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[Mr Hagon]

Had to scrape the windows this morning, but also found that the inside of the windscreen had ice on it too!

Sending all the heat to the windscreen soon cleared it quickly.

However I'm curious as to why the inside iced up.

I expect the scuttle drain overflowing not long ago and some dampness remaining is probably why...also reminds me that I should change the pollen filter too  .

[Bionic]

Basic physics!
It ices inside because the warm air in the car has moisture in it from your breath or other damp areas which are not necessarilly water leaks. Wet clothing is another problem. When warm moisture laden air, just as in a house, hits a cold surface it 'condenses' on the cold surface, usually the windows, and turns back to water which then will freeze if it is cold enough. Surely as a kid you breathed anto a window and wrote your name? Same thing.
At the onset of cold weather I always ensure that the inside of the car is kept as dry as possible and use an electric heater inside to completely dry it out. You can by electri (car battery) windscreen heaters that sit on the top of the dash. The dearer ones have a timer built in. 'Bout 15-20 quid mark.
GudLuk

[rustym95]

you've been heavy brething again havent you.

[damage consultant]

thats when you see the foot prints on the screen

[Abiton]

Basic physics!
It ices inside because the warm air in the car has moisture in it from your breath or other damp areas which are not necessarilly water leaks. Wet clothing is another problem. When warm moisture laden air, just as in a house, hits a cold surface it 'condenses' on the cold surface, usually the windows, and turns back to water which then will freeze if it is cold enough. Surely as a kid you breathed anto a window and wrote your name? Same thing.
At the onset of cold weather I always ensure that the inside of the car is kept as dry as possible and use an electric heater inside to completely dry it out. You can by electri (car battery) windscreen heaters that sit on the top of the dash. The dearer ones have a timer built in. 'Bout 15-20 quid mark.
GudLuk

Don't be tempted by the versions of these windscreen heater/demisters that plug into the cigar-lighter socket.  They are almost completely useless.  I had one and it produced a trickle of barely-warm air, even wired directly to the battery (via fuse and switch) with very heavy-gauge wire.

The reason these things are crap is again simple physics.  If it's designed to plug into a cigar lighter it will have a maximum current consumption of 15A.  Some cigar lighters aren't even rated at this much.

15A at 14V is 210W.  This is simply not enough to produce a meaningful amount of warm air. 

[wideboy]

had same problem, change the pollen filter.

phill

[Boatboy]

Surely the cigar lighter power cuts out after a period of time.

When we were kids we never wrote our name in the condensation. However, if you write '2219' above '770'  (make them continental 7s with the bar across) you can offend passers by

[tunnie]

inspect the pollen filter and check the scuttle drain, likey the pollen filter has had its day, and no longer letting the air back out again.

[Andy B]

...... and no longer letting the air back out again.

  :-?

Air comes in through the filter into the car, and out via the vent in boot in the rear off side wing.

[tunnie]

...... and no longer letting the air back out again.

  :-?

Air comes in through the filter into the car, and out via the vent in boot in the rear off side wing.

It also lets air back out again, not much, but enough to stop it misting up inside the windshield, as mentioned above by wideboy, and myself, replacing it stops the inside of the screen misting up.

As they mostly suck in air from the outside they get blocked as they filter out all the crap, but they do need to be able to 'breath' both ways.

[Entwood]

Not sure I subscribe to the "lets air back out" theory ... but I will agree that a blocked pollen filter will cause misting ... my theory is quite simply that the blocked filter restricts fresh air intake, so is like having the recirculating system selected. This increases relative humidity and so causes misting.

[tunnie]

Not sure I subscribe to the "lets air back out" theory ... but I will agree that a blocked pollen filter will cause misting ... my theory is quite simply that the blocked filter restricts fresh air intake, so is like having the recirculating system selected. This increases relative humidity and so causes misting.

At the end of the day its a damn great big vent into the car, and if its blocked and not letting air in or out, its going to cause the windscreen to mist up inside

[Andy B]

Not sure I subscribe to the "lets air back out" theory ... but I will agree that a blocked pollen filter will cause misting ... my theory is quite simply that the blocked filter restricts fresh air intake, so is like having the recirculating system selected. This increases relative humidity and so causes misting.

Exactly Nige. 

[sexydaz]

Not sure I subscribe to the "lets air back out" theory ... but I will agree that a blocked pollen filter will cause misting ... my theory is quite simply that the blocked filter restricts fresh air intake, so is like having the recirculating system selected. This increases relative humidity and so causes misting.

Exactly Nige. 

that gets my vote

[sneakypenguin]

not to mention the cigar lighters cut out as soon as you pull the key out, unless it's been modified for a permanent live feed